Cinta Vidal The leading roles are played by spaces rather than the people inhabiting them

In a world where we are supposed to work and play hard, oftentimes it is tough to take a step back and put things in perspective. But when you do, you’ll learn how to see things differently. With her gravity-defying paintings, Spanish illustrator Cinta Vidal does just that; she forces you to approach the everyday from a new angle.

Next to your personal work, you work in scenography too — how, if so, has that influenced your personal work?

My work in the scenography workshop has influenced me a lot. Scenography is a job that focuses more on spaces than on people. It also plays with light and perspective in order to create inhabitable environments. I unconsciously inherited all these elements and I think that this can be seen in my paintings, where the leading roles are played by spaces rather than the people inhabiting them.

Why did you start to make these ‘un-gravity constructions’?

I always carry a notebook with me and I am constantly drawing. Some years ago I started playing with gravity in order to represent the different points of view we all have from the world. We often live close to each other but have a very different perception from our environment. This is what I try to represent when I play with gravity.

It seems you paint domestic scenes. What makes these scenes interesting to put in a different perspective?

I like giving value to everything that is related to everyday life. I think that we often don’t give it the value it really has. We all live our daily routine in a different way, and this is why I try to create different scenes from different perspectives. The idea of being physically close but mentally far has always interested me, and I don’t consider it an extraordinary situation, but rather something that is constantly happening in our everyday life.

I haven’t found any other animal in your work than cats. What is the role of cats in your work?

My family has always had cats and now I have two living with me. I am fascinated by their elegance and their observant attitude. I like to make them appear in my paintings as some kind of privileged and mysterious observers.